Aristotle on the Moon
Issues in Science and Technology
An award-winning journal devoted to the best ideas and writing on policy related to science, technology, and society.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade,” proclaimed President Kennedy in 1962, “because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.” Less than seven years after Kennedy articulated this goal, NASA successfully landed men on the moon.
Borrowing a concept from Aristotle, G. Ryan Faith calls this kind of goal-oriented mission a “telic activity,” the sort of grand challenge at which NASA excels. “The catch, as NASA discovered,” he writes, “is that a telic goal?can?be completed, exhausting the mandate that set everything in motion and bringing the narrative to a close.” Such was the case with human deep space exploration: the last crewed mission to the moon was in 1972.
As NASA struggles to navigate changing political directives, myriad technical options, and limited budgets, Faith calls on the space agency to engage more deeply with questions of values and purpose. “NASA needs to embrace philosophy,” he argues, “so that it can better explain what it is doing and why to the public and itself.”
Space & Defense Policy Expertise
6 个月For those interested in the article, Issues is hosting a panel discussion on the topic on June 6th. https://issues.org/event/how-can-philosophy-help-nasa-explore-the-cosmos/
Associate State Geologist of Texas & Associate Director, Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin
6 个月This is an superb essay on the need for a foundational philosophy for NASA (and I would say space exploration more generally) - well worth the short time needed to read!
Director of Early Stage Innovations and Partnerships at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
6 个月Zachary Pirtle, Ph.D. Your work on the ethical implications study is referenced…
Exploring and Implementing the intended justice outcome of #spacelaw is enough to get started to understand the values and purpose of space exploration. See: https://www.thespacereview.com/article/2865/1
Next Trend Realty LLC./wwwHar.com/Chester-Swanson/agent_cbswan
6 个月Thanks for sharing.